I'Narn En'Gohan
by Wonderbob
Summary: A single mistake will set in motion events that will change the Multiverse forever. First story in an AU series chronicling Gohan’s life after the Cell Games.
1. Chapter 1

**I'Narn En'Gohan**

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Sounds of joy and laughter could be heard throughout the forest that rested just west of the base of Mount Paozu. The animals grazed in the open fields around the gathering and the birds chirped from their perches in the trees above the heads of the large group of jovial friends. Some would have called the sight a great time of peace and tranquility, but nothing can be labeled 'tranquil' when there are Saiyans involved.

In attendance was the last of the full blooded Saiyans, Prince Vegeta of the destroyed planet Vegeta. Though the prince did not willingly choose to attend the gathering, he was currently enjoying himself as he ate everything in sight, but the food did not come to him without competition this day. Also present at the party were two half blooded Saiyans, Son Gohan and Briefs Trunks, son of the future version of Vegeta. Trunks fought for as much of the meal as he could gorge himself with, as he was not used to having this much food readily available to eat. In the future timeline, food was scarce due to Humanity's conflict with the androids. Gohan was not eating in his usual manner, but he was eating a reasonable sum to try and please his mother and make her feel as happy as possible.

To tell the truth, the Son family had not been the same since the death of their most beloved member, Goku. The hero had chosen to remain dead after he had been killed in an effort to abort the suicide attempt of Cell two months earlier. Goku believed that the Earth had undergone much strife over the last few years due to his presence there, so he had decided that it was in the best interest of his adopted home world to remain in Otherworld, much to the dismay of his wife and son.

Chi-Chi's pain had eased somewhat, but it was still there, as it had been for many of the years she had been with Goku. She was used to her husband being either dead or off training somewhere and she regarded the incident with false hope as only temporary. But Gohan was another story. As was his mother, Gohan was used to his father being dead or away, but this time, he believed that he had caused the death of his beloved father. He ate enough to remain strong for his training, but his appetite had not returned to the same way that it was before the Cell Games.

The young Saiyan spent most of his time off in the mountains with Piccolo, meditating and training. Training seemed to be the only thing that managed to take Gohan's mind off of the Cell Games and he used it as a tool for the majority of his days. The act of fighting and training had not always been easy for him though. There was a time in which the boy would have refused to do a thing but homework, which he hardly did any of, much to his mother's dismay. Chi-Chi had allowed him to continue on with his training routine since she knew that it was the only thing that could help him cope with his father's death, but once he was over it to a certain degree, the first thing he would be doing would be hitting the books.

Ever since his transformation to the second level of Super Saiyan, it was as if he had awakened his natural Saiyan urge to fight. The boy had never felt this way about fighting before and did not know what to think about it at first, but decided to accept it rather than fight it. That would not do him or his sanity any good at all. Vegeta once likened the idea of a Saiyan going against his natural urges, to fighting an entire army of Aisu telepaths. It wasn't good for the mind or the body.

Today was not a day of mourning though. It was a gathering of friends and family to celebrate the peace that Earth was experiencing.

"If you touch that turkey leg again baldy, you won't have to worry about that robotic lover of yours anymore. All that will be on your mind is how to spend the rest of eternity in Otherworld."

Well, about as peaceful as a planet with a handful of Saiyans on it could get. No matter how good of a heart the beings had, things would never be normal with them around.

"Dad, calm down. There's plenty of food for everyone," Trunks explained through mouth fulls of fried rice.

"Shut up brat, or you'll be joining cueball over there."

"All bark and no bite..." Murmured the Namek in attendance from his spot on the far end of the table. He had no reason to fight over food since he had no use for it. All that Piccolo needed to survive was water, which he was currently enjoying a large glass of.

"What was that, Namek?" Vegeta questioned as he pushed himself back from the table to get a good view of the alien being. The two had never come to serious blows since Vegeta had first landed on the planet, but the there was always a strong rivalry between the two.

"I believe you heard me, Vegeta," Piccolo said, a bit louder than before. The sound of a chuckle could be heard from the youngest occupant of the table. Gohan sat across from Trunks, between his mother and Vegeta.

"Something funny, boy?" Vegeta glared at the demi-Saiyan.

Gohan shook his head, grin still present on his face, "Nothing at all Vegeta. Nothing at all..."

"I didn't think so," the prince turned his glare from Gohan to the boy's mentor, "Do you want to settle this like a man rather than sitting here bickering like women."

Piccolo nodded, getting to his feet, "Thought you'd never ask."

But before the duo could leave, Bulma interrupted them, "Vegeta, at least finish your lunch before you go spar."

A grunt could be heard coming from the Saiyan, "I'm done woman, now leave me be."

"Don't talk to me like that, you pompous-"

A groan coming from Vegeta cut her of before she could finish her sentence, "Woman, I need no more food."

"Fine, see if I care if you starve to death," Bulma said with a wave of her hand, dismissing her unruly husband.

Without another word, Vegeta, clad in his usual blue spandex looked over to the Namek to see if he was ready. Piccolo nodded and the pair shot off into the distance without hesitation, destroying the forest above them in the process. Though this was a peaceful, friendly gathering, all parties involved knew that you couldn't get this many fighters together without some kind of conflict going on.

"I hope Piccolo creams his ass..." Krillen muttered underneath his breath and was rewarded with a slap to the back of the head from Bulma.

"Hey, that's my husband your talking about, buster."

"I know that, but your husband's an ass-," but he was cutoff by another slap before he could finish his sentence.

Again, Gohan chuckled under his breath. Though he loved to get under Vegeta's and Krillen's skin, the boy usually decided to opt out of conflicts involving Bulma. He had learned from experience that it was not a good idea to be on her bad side.

"Watch it!"

"Okay, okay..."

Loud booms could be heard in the distance. It startled the non-warriors at first, but the quickly became accustomed to the noise.

_Sounds like Vegeta and Piccolo have started up. From what I can tell they're even right now, but Vegeta hasn't gone super yet, so he'll most likely get the advantage there, _Gohan though with a grimace. Every now and then, he liked to see Vegeta lose to someone besides himself. It kept the man's inhuman ego in check.

Gohan turned to Marai Trunks, "So Trunks, would you mind helping me work on my sword skills a little bit before you leave?"

Ever since he was a child, Gohan had always loved fighting with weapons, mostly swords, and he had approached Marai Trunks about the subject at an earlier date. He had asked the elder teen to help him work on his technique before he left for his own time. Trunks had readily agreed to help Gohan since he deeply respected him. After all, the future version of the boy had taught him everything he knew about fighting. He thought he owed Gohan something, even if it wasn't the same one he knew and loved.

"Of course Gohan. Did you bring a sword with you?"

"Yeah, I managed to find the one from my childhood that Piccolo gave me. It's a little small, but it'll work for today, I think." Gohan unsheathed the sword from it's resting place against a nearby tree. Trunks nodded approvingly.

"Yeah, that one will do for a while, but you'll need to be getting a new one if you plan on fighting with it on more of a permanent basis."

"I think I can handle that. So should we move farther into the forest or is here good?"

Trunks gestured toward the group that accompanied him with a sweep of his hand, "I think we should get as far away from here as possible. We don't want to chance hurting them."

Gohan nodded, "Okay, let's go." He turned to his mother before he left, "We'll be back in a few hours mom. If you guys are gone by the time we're finished, I'll meet you at home."

"Okay Gohan, I just want you to be careful."

"Yes ma'am, I will."

Chi-Chi pointed a finger at the elder of the pair. "And you, mister, better take care of him."

"Yes Miss Chi-Chi, I will, but I don't think he needs any taking care of."

The woman put a finger to her lips to silence him, "He's eleven years old. Just say that you'll do it."

Trunks smiled, "Okay, I'll take care of Gohan. I'll make sure nothing happens to him."

She folded her arms over her chest in triumph.

"Thank you very much. Now shoo! Go do your little sword thing."

The pair laughed at her antics. No matter how strong her son was, Chi-Chi would always be the same. They began walking to a clear spot to take off from, rather than destroying trees as Vegeta and Piccolo had done. Gohan waved over his shoulder to the group seated at the table. "Okay, we'll see you guys in a bit then."

In a flash of blue and purple auras, the duo of demi-Saiyans took to the sky. Before long they were out of sight, heading toward the direction that the sounds of Piccolo and Vegeta's sparring match were coming from. Since they knew they would be sparring today, both had come in their usual fighting clothes.

Krillin didn't hesitate before grabbing the turkey leg that he had desired from earlier. The monk took a large bite out of, savoring it's rich taste. He shook his head and muttered, "Saiyans. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

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The very air around the two combatants shook with the force of their blows as they danced through the sky above Mount Paozu. Piccolo was currently locked in close combat with Vegeta, matching the Saiyan blow for blow, but it did not last for long. Vegeta pushed the Namek away from himself, putting him off balance. He followed with a roundhouse kick to Piccolo's head, sending him flying backwards through the air.

The Saiyan disappeared with a feral smirk on his face and suddenly appeared directly in the flying Namek's path. Vegeta interlocked his hands, forming a large fist and raised it above his head. As Piccolo reached him, he brought his hands down on his chest, sending the green warrior flying into the ground, throwing up numerous rocks and dirt at the impact. A small crater formed, which Piccolo laid at the bottom of, attempting to get to his feet as the Saiyan floated down to stand on the edge of the crater, arms crossed over his muscular chest.

"Come on Namek! You were no where near this weak the last time we fought. I _know _you can do better than this."

Piccolo grinned as he got to his feet at the bottom of the crater, "So you're tiring of this warm up too, eh Vegeta?"

"Very much so, Green Bean."

"Time to raise the stakes a little then," said Piccolo, removing his weighted turban and cape, allowing them to fall to the ground with a thud. He dropped quickly into the stance that he favored for powering up, knees slightly bent with his arms at his sides, fists clenched tightly. With a scream that shook the trees around him, a white light exploded from around the alien being. Vegeta smiled, anxious to begin the real fight. With a burst of what seemed like golden flames, his hair erupted with the same color and his eyes turned turquoise. The two took to the sky again, exchanging hundreds of blows per minute. It was obvious to anyone around that the real fight had begun.

Gohan and Trunks landed next to the Namek sized crater, ready to begin their sword training. Gohan gazed to the sky after the duo, following their rapid pace with quick movements of his eyes.

"It looks like their even now that they both powered up," he murmured to himself.

Trunks nodded, agreeing with his younger counterpart, "Yeah, Piccolo's giving him a run for his money today. Dad's not powered up all the way, though."

"Neither is Piccolo."

The older Saiyan cocked an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean? From what I'm sensing, he's giving Dad his all."

The boy shook his head, disagreeing with Trunks, "He can hide his ki better than almost anyone around. After all, he does spend most of his time meditating in the woods working on his ki control."

"Yeah, that does make sense now that I think about it," muttered Trunks, wincing as Vegeta landed a powerful right hook across Piccolo's face. He fell back for a moment, but didn't hesitate to jump on the Saiyan after regaining his balance.

"So, where do you want to start?"

* * *

The hours of the day passed on quickly between the two groups of men in the forest. Each duo followed through with their respective goals, Vegeta and Piccolo sparring above the forest as Trunks further trained Gohan in the use of his sword. It was nearing sundown around the mountain as the sparring pair decided to draw their match to a close above the peak of Mount Paozu.

They had both fought hard, but neither had been able to definitively beat the other. It seemed that Vegeta had the upper hand throughout the fight due to his Super Saiyan ability, but every time he increased his power, Piccolo had been able to match it until they both topped out at their maximum strengths. The Saiyan had a small margin of power over his opponent, but he was also slightly outmatched in skill.

"So, Namek, have you had enough yet?" Panted Vegeta high above the mountain's peak.

"I could ask you the same, troll," Piccolo managed to get out between labored breaths. It was understandable that they were both tired. Their match had been going on for roughly five hours, now. Both were very bloody and bruised. Vegeta guessed that he had at least seven broken ribs and possibly a few broken fingers, but it was nothing that a regeneration tank couldn't fix. Piccolo wasn't in any better shape either, though.

Elsewhere below the fighters, the two demi-Saiyans were sitting atop a huge boulder, overlooking the setting sun. They had completed their tasks a few minutes earlier and they were both content to rest themselves from a long day of training.

"It's too bad you have to leave tomorrow, Trunks," said Gohan from his sitting position, leaning back on his hands. Friendship between the pair had come before the Cell Games and had lingered ever since, but both knew that the lavender haired Saiyan must return to his time to stop the demonical androids.

"Yeah, but I'm glad that I gave you a starting point for your sword training. You'll be on my level in a few weeks time if you keep up the practice."

"You think so?"

Trunks nodded his head silently, "I know so. Now how about we go find my dad and Piccolo? I'm interested to see who won."

"Okay, let's go," Gohan agreed, getting to his feet to take flight. Lifting off from the boulder, they angled their flight path towards the two specks that they knew were Vegeta and Piccolo. They were just barely visible in the waning light, but Gohan and Trunks were there in no time.

Vegeta regarded the new arrivals indifferently, not greeting them at all. Piccolo nodded a hello at the two, but said nothing. It was obvious that they were both still catching their breath from the fight.

"Wow, it looks like you two really went all out," Gohan observed quietly.

"No shit, boy."

Gohan ignored his comment, since he was used to such things coming from Vegeta, "What are you guys planning on doing now?"

Piccolo shrugged, "I'll probably go see Dende for a quick healing session later on, but I'm not sure about right now.

"Now that sounds like a good idea."

Three heads turned to the source of the new voice. But one did not. Piccolo was totally frozen in place, completely unmoving. Highlighted by the setting sun, there flew a human sized dragon flapping it's wings, wearing a pair of baggy blue jeans and an oversized tee-shirt that read in huge bold letters, '**The Man can't hold me down**'.

Trunks's face paled instantly. His worst nightmare had come true. Malcolm had not been bluffing when he visited the Saiyan before. The dragon grinned a mouth full of pearly white teeth at the Saiyan's obvious fear.

"Thought you could get away with it, eh old boy?"

_End Chapter 1_

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**Author's Note:** I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter in my new series, **I'Narn En'Gohan**. It will follow Gohan through many adventures, this being the first one. I know that Gohan is a bit out of character, but I believe that it fits with the description of how he took the results of the Cell Games. If you want to dispute me on that though, please review or e-mail me and I'll be happy to talk about it. I'd also recommend that you read my short story, **Consequences** before you continue reading this though, as you won't understand Malcolm's role as well without having gone over my previous story.

Please review, since I'd like to know how I'm doing capturing the characters so far and how well I write, so it would be much appreciated if you tell me.

**Revision Notes**: Not much changed in the revision except for a minor part with a certain character. I just felt like this needed to be done.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'Narn En'Gohan**  
_Chapter 2 _

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The air above Mount Paozu was so thick with tension that it could be cut with a knife. Ever since the odd looking beast had spoken to the group of three, there had been total silence. It wasn't very shocking to them to suddenly find a dragon flying hundreds of feet above the ground. They were used to off things such as that happening, but what did silence the fighters was the strange aura that the beast gave off. It was one of the most powerful and great things that any of the three had ever felt.

Trunks had encountered the dragon once before, but was so disheveled that he had not had the piece of mind to feel out the being's ki. Maybe if he had done that before, he would have never returned to the past. His power greatly surpassed that of Cell by many, many times, and they all knew that there was no hope of being able to destroy such a creature. But true to his personality, Vegeta put aside his intimidation and immediately went on the offensive.

"Just what the _fuck _are you?"

"Oh, I see we have an unpleasant one amongst us. Here I was thinking that the Saiyan's had reformed themselves to be like the ones in the days of old, but I guess that's how you are when you're the prince of a dead race."

Vegeta's face immediately turned red from anger and the veins in is forehead began to bulge and throb. The Saiyan was ready to pounce on the dragon, strength be damned. "_Excuse me?_"

"Dad, you might wanna calm down here," Trunks said calmly, attempting to quiet his father down so that he wouldn't say anything to offend the dragon.

"I believe you heard me my good chap," said Malcolm nonchalantly, dismissing Vegeta and turning to Trunks, "Now old boy, I believe that we have some business to attend to."

"No! You're business is with me for now, dragon," screamed Vegeta, stepping in between the dragon and his son from the future, "Now tell me who you are before I pound you into oblivion."

"Vegeta, let's just calm down and see what this guy has to say," Gohan said, trying his best to reign in the Saiyan.

"Fine, fine. No use in everyone getting in a tizzy here," the dragon sighed, "My name is Malcolm and I am the Protector of the Timestream."

Everyone but Trunks froze, not moving a muscle, shocked beyond belief. No one really had thought about the presence of a Protector of Time, much less having an idea of what the being would look like. A human sized dragon wearing hip-hop themed clothes with an English accent really didn't strike them as a typical higher deity.

"Well, just because you're the Protector of Time doesn't mean that I won't beat you into a pulp," Vegeta threatened, though his words really didn't have as much force behind them now that he knew what he was dealing with.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, my business here doesn't have anything to do with you two." Malcolm pointed at Gohan and Vegeta. "I'm here for young Trunks."

"What do you want with him?" asked Gohan, coming forward in defense of his friend.

"Oh, I just need to borrow him for ten years or so."

"You're not going to take my son anywhere," growled Vegeta, surprising Gohan with the adamant vindication of his son.

"Oh bugger off, Saiyan. I could crush you under my thumb if I so wished."

Gohan dropped into a fighting stance. "Then you'd have to crush me too."

Malcolm cocked an eyebrow in amazement at the two beings, looking at them as if they had gone absolutely insane.

"You three are going to be erased from existence anyway. I don't know why you would bother fighting," shrugged the dragon, disregarding them and their threats entirely.

Trunks's eyes went wide."What? Malcolm, you never said anything about that."

"Well what did you think would happen, old boy? Did you think that I would just let this augmented timeline continue its wretched existence?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah, I did."

"I'm afraid that you're mistaken, old boy. As soon as you and I leave this place, I'm going to completely erase it. There won't even be a trace of the Kais left by the time I'm done," he looked at the three residents of the present timeline, "Nothing against you chaps, especially you young one. You've endured a lot in your short life just to be destroyed."

"Just take me with you and leave these people alone. I'll do whatever you want."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's not that easy. I _will_ have to destroy this timeline. End of story."

"We'll fight you," Gohan threatened.

"And lose, I'm afraid."

"You underestimate us, dragon."

"No, I don't. You don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. I am omnipotent. If I wish to crush your spine right now, Saiyan, it would be nothing difficult for me. If I wanted to turn you into a bowl of potted flowers, I could do so with a mere thought."

Vegeta quickly shut up, finally realizing that words would win this fight, not fists. Silently, he left that part to Gohan.

"Can we do some kind of favor for you?"

"**NO! **I will _not _be brought down to the level of a mere errand boy."

Gohan gritted his teeth and eyed the prince. He allowed his power to spike to its full potential and his eyes to turn teal. Words were not always needed to quiet the Saiyan.

"A favor? There is someone I can think of that needs to be taken care of," Malcolm considered.

"Yes! What if we agreed to fight a warrior of your choosing, Malcolm?" Gohan questioned, using his genius intellect to attempt to come up with a suitable solution.

The dragon cocked an eyebrow at the hybrid. "What are you getting at, young chap?"

"Put us up against any warrior that you so wish. If one of us wins, we get to keep our timeline intact."

"Yeah, I'll agree to come with you if you allow these guys to at least fight for themselves."

Malcolm thought for a moment, hesitating to answer at first. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Lelos wouldn't like that a bit."

"Come on," Gohan interjected, "It must get boring managing Time. Put us up against anyone you want and we'll give you a show you won't forget."

"Nothing can top the Senda Wars for a good show, I'm afraid, but then again, I haven't seen a good fight in ages..."

"We'll give you a great show Malcolm. Just give us the chance," Gohan begged, sensing that the deity was about to give in to their pleas. Though Vegeta saw that the strategy was working, he would have no hand in it. The Prince of Saiyans would have no part in begging, even if it did come down to the existence of his timeline.

"Ohhh alright. I'll give you mortals a chance."

"Thank you, Malcolm. You won't be disappointed."

"Yes, I'm sure boy. Now who shall I put you up against..."

The dragon stared off into the sky, towards the setting sun for a moment or two, contemplating where and who the threesome should fight. Malcolm decided that Trunks would not fight since he was not a part of this timeline. It would only be Gohan and Vegeta. They would have to do their best against whoever they were sent to fight. His face snapped back suddenly to the two warriors, "I've got it."

The trio gazed on in silence as Malcolm closed his eyes, spoke a few foreign words, most likely an ancient language of Otherworld, Gohan guessed, waved his hand through the air and paused as if he was waiting on something.

Vegeta had been quiet since the dragon threatened to crush his spine or turn him into flowers, but he had been silent for long enough, "Just what _are_ you doing?"

"_Vegeta, _shut up!" Gohan threatened through gritted teeth, hoping that the prince wouldn't cause them to lose their chance to save their timeline.

With a flash of light, a portal appeared in front of the five beings. It was as if it was a window to another world, as it was clear and left them perfectly able to see through to the other side. On the other side, a barren grey landscape could be seen, littered with rocks and huge craters. At the very site of it, everyone knew that it has been the site of many great battles over the years, yet none but Malcolm knew what it truly was.

The Protector of Time held a hand outwards, palm facing up, inviting them to step through to the other side.

"After you, mortals."

Gohan hesitated at first, as did everyone else, but he soon stepped through, followed by Vegeta, then Trunks, and finally Malcolm himself. As quickly as the portal had come about, it closed equally as fast behind them with a snap through the air.

* * *

Gohan stumbled out of the portal, a bit disoriented at first, but quickly regained his composure. Without hesitating, the Saiyan began to observe the area surrounding him. The first thing he noticed was the yellow layer of clouds above him. He couldn't begin to be able to estimate the distance to the top. For all he knew it could be hundreds of miles to the strange cloud layer above him. The next thing he noticed was the river flowing next to him. It contained water that was as grey as the landscape he was standing on, and so murky that you couldn't see much father than an inch beneath the surface. Gohan allowed his senses to expand out around him, taking ki readings in the area, but stopped once he came to the first thing he located. His jaw dropped a few inches, hanging open significantly.

_That has to be the most overwhelming thing that I've ever felt in my life. Just where the _hell _did this goddamned dragon send us?_

"You've got it exactly right, boy," Malcolm said from behind Gohan. He had been so engrossed by the power in the distance that he hadn't even noticed his companions come through the portal.

"But I didn't say anything."

"He can read minds too, Gohan."

"Ah..."

"Exactly, young Saiyan. Now, as I was saying, you were exactly right by thinking that you had been sent to Hell."

Gohan blinked in shock. "You sent us to Hell? Why?"

"Well, this is where I want you to fight."

"I've been to Hell before, dragon, and this is not a part that I recognize. Where in this Kami forsaken place have you sent us," Vegeta demanded, already on the offensive again.

"No, I wouldn't think you would have ventured this far into the bowels of the Netherworld during your brief stay here."

"Well, where are we," asked Gohan, still unable to wrench his thoughts away from the power in the distance. He was just now noticing that Vegeta had been completely healed.

"We are right on the outskirts of the Battle of Evermore, only in one of the lesser used areas of the battlefield. Those nitwits moved on from here long ago."

The fact that they were standing on a battlefield had been surmised long ago, but the fact that they were in Hell had been surprising to the Saiyans. What had they gotten themselves into?

_Why does he want us in Hell, _Gohan thought, _Does he want us to fight in that battle he was talking about?_

"No, young Saiyan, my interests do not lie in you fighting in the Battle of Evermore. My interests for you are in the fortress to your left."

Gohan turned upon the mention of the fortress to find just that. It wasn't too opulent or grand. It was a simple, grey castle made of stone with a single tower on each of the four corners. Gohan guessed that it was no larger than Capsule Corporation.

"That's it?"

Malcolm's brow wrinkled in wonder, "What do you mean 'That's it?'? That fortress is home to Dabura, one of the most feared Demons in this level of Hell. Search out his ki if you wish to find him."

Vegeta quickly located his ki, not shocked at all by the level of it, for it was close to that of Cell, "So what do you want us to do with this so-called Demon?"

"Well, I want you to seek him out and defeat him in battle. I care not if you kill him, I just want him beaten."

Gohan nodded, understanding the group's task, "I think that we can handle that. One question though. Why him?"

Malcolm smiled. "It's really quite trivial, actually. He lost to me in a card game a few hundred thousand years ago and he welched on the bet."

Gohan blinked in surprise and felt close to fainting. "You brought us to Hell, to defeat a Demon, because he didn't pay off a bet?"

The dragon nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good summary of the situation, yes."

"Okay, fine," Gohan sighed, "We'll take care of him."

"Splendid! I'm glad we can all agree on something."

"Just remember this. The castle is full of dangers and perils that very few living mortals have ever been subjected to before. You all may not make it out alive."

Gohan and his companions nodded, accepting any such fate that might befall them.

"I do not fear a weakling Demon and a castle full of tricks. I've dealt with worse before," stated the Saiyan prince.

"I'd rather be dead than erased from existence, personally," Gohan stated grimly.

Vegeta nodded in agreement. "Amazing. The boy and I are thinking the same," he stated dryly. "Absolutely shocking."

"I'm glad that you all understand and accept the reality of the situation," Malcolm began, "Now go and seek out the Demon King and defeat him in combat. If you do not accomplish this goal, you and you're timeline will be erased from the Multiverse forever. Your lavender haired friend and I shall be watching from my home in the Timestream. Goodbye and good luck, chaps."

Malcolm began to perform the ritual to call forth a portal of his and within moments, there was one floating in front of the group of five. He looked toward Trunks and gestured for him to move through it, "After you, old boy."

"One moment, Malcolm," Trunks said, addressing his captor. He turned to Gohan, unbuckling the sword from his back, "Gohan, I won't have much use for this anymore. I want you to have it."

Gohan was speechless since he had never seen his older friend even take his sword off. "I can't take that Trunks."

Trunks shook his head, hushing the boy, "No, I want you to keep it. I won't have any use for it where I'm goin'."

Gohan was obviously shocked, but Trunks smiled reassuringly.

"You had better have this thing mastered by the time I make it back."

Gohan smiled slightly, accepting the gift and the challenge, "You can count on me." He buckled the sword to himself, wearing it in the same manner that Trunks always had.

"Good luck you guys."

Vegeta eyed him from his spot across the group from the half-Saiyan. He walked up to the teen and extended a hand. Trunks looked down at it, not knowing what to do with it at first, but then taking it after a moment

"The same to you, son."

The pair broke apart and Trunks stepped up to the portal, putting only one foot through at first. He looked over his shoulder one last time before disappearing through.

"Trust me, I will take good care of him. I have a feeling that you will all be seeing him again soon, anyway," Malcolm began, "If you do defeat Dabura, a portal will appear on his throne to bring you back to your home. I hope you will not disappoint me, chaps."

They all nodded their goodbyes to Malcolm, whom would either be their savior or destroyer by the end of the day. Without hesitation, the dragon stepped through to the other side, causing the portal to disappear as well.

Gohan turned toward their destination, the castle of the Demon King. The wind swept through Hell, bringing with it a terrible howling sound that fit the desolate, torn landscape perfectly. All three beings of mixed races eyed the castle with a determined eye, ready for what awaited them. They all knew the consequences of their failure and none had felt pressure akin to this before. A whole timeline resting on the shoulders of three mere mortals was a very heavy weight, but true to their personalities, all put aside their fears and anxieties. They were ready for battle.

"Let's do this Vegeta." Gohan said, taking his first steps towards the ancient fortress.

Vegeta raised a fist, proclaiming to no one in particular, "We shall crush that so-called Demon King beneath our boots."

The two would-be heroes took to the air towards the castle.

The fight to save everything was on.

_End Chapter 2_

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**Author's Notes:**Sorry about the long wait, but I kinda lost interest there for a little while, but thankfully, I've gotten it back. Most of the the third chapter is also complete, so maybe I'll have that out in a week or so. But first, before we get too deep in this story, let me tell you that I am not going to be the most punctual author. It may be months before I can get individual chapters out. You have been forewarned. 

By the way, I made a few small revisions to the first chapter that directly affect this one and the rest of the story.

Please leave a review, even if it is only a short one, so that I can try to become a better writer, which is what most of us are here on this site for. I'll try to answer you're reviews in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

The tranquil setting of Otherworld is considered one of the most peaceful places in existence. It is a perfect haven for those who wish to stay behind in the realm between that of the dead and living, rather than making the journey to Heaven. Since any kind of fighting at all is strictly forbidden in Heaven, most of the residents of Otherworld are warriors that are in eternal training. They chose to stay in their own personal Heaven of training and fighting rather than making the trip between astral planes to the realm of paradise. One such warrior is Son Goku.

He is not new to this place, as it is his second time here. The Saiyan spends most of his days training and eating, performing the occasional task asked of him by his mentor, King Kai. There are not many days when his services are required, but today is one of those days, unbeknownst to the warrior.

"**GOKU! GOKU, WHERE ARE YOU**?" yelled the short, blue minor deity. Since he always picked a different place to train in the rolling hills of the Grand Kai's planet, the Saiyan was difficult to locate at times. King Kai searched high and low for his trainee for many hours and was growing tired of his search. Goku always suppressed his ki when training since he usually did not want to be found, but finally after many hours the disgruntled Kai finally stumbled upon the Saiyan.

He was currently doing one of his most favored exercises, a handstand while pushing himself up and down. Sweat was pouring from every pore, soaking his clothing through and through. His face was scrunched up in concentration as he answered the Kai that was searching for him.

"Oh, hey King Kai. How's it going?"

"Thank Shin that I finally found you. I've been looking high and low for hours," huffed King Kai, obviously slightly angry because of his labored search for the Saiyan, "The Grand Kai himself sent me directly to find you. There's been a disturbance-"

"One sec, King Kai. I'm almost done."

Only a special person like Goku could get away with telling a Kai to wait. Not many others could accomplish such a feat.

With a final count, Goku pushed off with his hands, vaulting to land on his feat. He brushed himself off and fell straight back on his rear, landing in a sitting position on the ground, propped back on his arms.

"What's the matter this time, King Kai," he asked with a questioning look on his face, head cocked to the side. By now, the Saiyan was used to receiving such assignments. He performed an odd job for the Kais every so often, even though he had no clue as to how often it was. Goku really had no idea how long he had been here, since the dead are none too adept at telling time. The Creators decided that it was best to let the dead lose all sense of time since it helped eternity pass more quickly.

"The Grand Kai himself has called for you services once more. He's sending you to Hell again."

"Oh, not again. I hate goin' down there," Goku sighed, "You'd think that I was bad during my life as much as I get sent. Doesn't Hell have their own guys for managing stuff like this?"

The Kai nodded. "They do, but they stay tied up most of the time with matters deep in the darkest bowels of Hell. They deserve a break every now and again anyway."

"Fine. I won't let you down King Kai."

"Yes, I have full confidence in you Goku."

"'So what am I taking care of this time?" Goku asked, ready to get to the bottom of his assignment so that he could continue his training.

"Well this time, it seems that a few mortals showed up down there. We have no idea how they ended up in Hell, but we need you to figure it out."

"Where are they?"

The Kai scoffed, "That's why we're asking you. Lock onto their ki and use Instant Transmission to get to them."

Goku laughed. "Ha, oh yeah!"

King Kai covered his face with a hand, letting out an exasperated sigh in the process. Everyone that knew of the powerful Saiyan discovered that he wasn't too bright outside of the battlefield, but when he stepped into a fight, he became a tactical genius. If only he could learn to apply that to everyday life.

Goku stared off into the distance for a moment, attempting to lock onto the foreign kis. His eyes moved back and forth across the landscape as if he were using his sight to look for them. Suddenly, his nose scrunched up in question, obviously startled by what he found.

"That can't be right..."

But he searched again and found the same thing. The same three things, actually.

"What's the matter, Goku?"

"There are two of 'em, but this can't be right. From what I'm sensing, it's Gohan and Vegeta down there, but... No that can't be right. Why would they, of all people, be in Hell?"

He shrugged, "Maybe they died back on Earth."

"No, they're definitely alive. Besides, I don't think that Gohan would be in Hell. Vegeta, now that's another story, but Gohan? No. He's never done anything terrible enough to go to Hell."

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, I haven't heard of anything spectacular happening in the Northern Galaxy lately, other than a few uprisings against the Kold Empire. Nothing new there. Plus, I would be notified if one of them had died. We like to keep track of our more powerful fighters."

"I would have felt them coming here too."

Goku pushed himself off the ground, keeping a lock on the group of kis. As he stood, he put the two fingers to his head that was the tell-tale sign of the Instant Transmission technique.

"Nothing else to do but find out what's goin' on."

"Yes, you're right. Go down there and find out what's happening and report back to us."

He nodded and instantly, Goku disappeared from sight, as he was obviously eager to get to the bottom of the appearance of his son and rival.

The catfish-looking Kai stood for a moment before realizing how far he was from the Grand Kai's palace. He began jumping up and down in the air, screaming and waving his fists angrily.

"You could have at least given me a lift back home you big idiot," King Kai screamed, though there were no ears to hear his pleas for miles around.

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The twosome drew nearer and nearer to the castle with each passing second. Even though they pressed on, the landscape beneath never changed from it's dull grey monotony. Vegeta flew to the left of Gohan, though the Saiyan's thoughts were obviously elsewhere. His eyes were cast north towards the battle that Malcolm spoke of. It was as if he were longing to be there. Gohan stole another glance toward the source of so many enormous powers. Now that he stopped to think about it, Gohan was feeling a longing sensation as well. To be in the middle of that battle would sate every urge that he held as a Saiyan. It seemed that Vegeta was wishing for a bit more than to participate in the battle.

"Finding anything interesting, Vegeta?"

Vegeta grunted and answered in kind. "That's none of your business boy, now butt out before I beat you like I did when I first arrived on that infernal mudball of a planet."

"I don't believe that I was the one beaten in the earlier battle, your majesty." Gohan retorted, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Vegeta ceased all forward motion. "I swear to Kami-"

"Hey calm down Vegeta. I'm just giving you a hard time. Besides, we've got a lot bigger things to worry about than who won a fight more than half a decade ago," Gohan said. "Like that whole saving the timeline deal. I'd really like to get that taken care of if that's alright with you."

Vegeta didn't answer at all and just blasted off with a burst of his aura towards the castle.

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Gohan arrived shortly behind Vegeta, who was standing on the edge of the castle moat with his arms folded. The prince held an annoyed look on his face and was slightly damp. He had obviously been in the water.

"Did you decide to go for a swim Vegeta?" Gohan teased as he touched down on the ground. Vegeta may be the master of pushing other's buttons, but Gohan wasn't half bad himself.

"Ha ha ha boy. Very fucking funny," Vegeta began. "That damned water must be cursed. I was flying over it and I fell in."

"What's the matter? You can't control your ki anymore my prince?"

"Fuck you boy. You try and get over it." Vegeta offered, slightly flustered over not being believed by his companion. "Don't ask for any help getting out either. I'll let your smart ass drown."

Gohan regarded the water with a wary eye. It looked as if it was the same type of water as he had seen in the enormous river earlier. It was extremely grey and murky and looked as dangerous as a body of water could look. It bordered the castle on all sides, denying entry to any who desired it. There was a draw bridge drawn up on the other side but it would have to be lowered by an inhabitant of the castle.

There were a few vines growing along the bank and were the first type of vegetation that Gohan had seen during their time in Hell.

"I think I'll take your word for it Vegeta. I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

"Fuck off, boy."

Gohan laughed at the Saiyan's childishness. "Now, tell me what happened when you flew over it Vegeta. We need to get to the bottom of this water if we ever hope to get across into the Castle of the Demon King."

The castle in question stood a good twenty or thirty yards across the moat from the trio. Even though they were much closer to it, Gohan still could not see anything particularly interesting about it.

_It looks like your normal, everyday castle you see in books_ _about ancient times, _Gohan thought with a shrug. _But then again, you can't always judge something by it's outward appearance. Frieza seemed like a spoiled, girly rich kid floating in his personal little craft, but he ended up crumpling entire star systems. Damn, I bet that surprised the Hell out of people when he began his rule.  
_

Vegeta interrupted Gohan's thoughts with his answer in the usual arrogant tone. "Well if you must know, I was flying toward the castle and I lost all forward momentum. I dropped like a damned stone into that muck. There was no way that I could swim in it and I would have drowned if I didn't get a hold on one of those vines."

Gohan frowned. This was certainly going to present a problem.

Before they could begin to come up with a solution, the metallic scraping of chains moving was heard. Gohan and Vegeta turned toward the castle to try and discover the source of this sound, but they didn't have to look long. The drawbridge was obviously lowering with the nasty din of grinding chains. It was an overtly slow process, as if the operator of the bridge was trying to draw it out as long as possible. Finally, the wooden plank slammed into the ground with an audible thud and the group looked across it to pinpoint the thing operating it.

Nothing changed for several moments until the echoing of hooves could be heard coming from the interior of the castle. A moment later, the first of the riders burst forth from the open gates, carrying large clouds of black dust in their wake. A steady stream of knights clad in black armor poured from the castle until all eight of them came to a halt on the other side of the moat, facing down Gohan and Vegeta. All knights wore the same black armor that covered their entire bodies, with dark broadswords slung lazily on their hips. Even their heads and faces were covered in the dark, obsidian tinted metal.

Gohan regarded the new arrivals nonchalantly. "You guys must be the welcoming committee. What do you think, Vegeta?

"**What mortals journey to the land of death to come to the Castle of the Demon King?**" The lead knight boomed, wasting no time with theatrics. His voice was as dark as his appearance and caused a slight shiver to run down Gohan's spine.

"They seem fairly pathetic to me, just like the rest of what I sensed in that castle," Vegeta said as he nodded toward the grey castle looming across the moat. The truth is that they really weren't that pathetic, as each had around the same power as that of Frieza, except the leader, who was slightly stronger. By most standards, they weren't pathetic in the least, but to warriors as seasoned as Gohan and Vegeta, they were relatively weak.

"**Pathetic?**" the assumed leader questioned. The only thing that set him apart from the others was the fact that he was wearing a black cape that billowed behind him. It easily distinguished him from the others. "**We are the Order of Royal Demon Knights, the King's personal guard. We have not fallen in battle in over ten thousand years. You DARE call us pathetic? You are but mere mortals.**"

"Looks like these guys are serious, Vegeta," Gohan surveyed, drawing his sword for the ensuing fight and falling into his most favored stance. The young warrior's right hand rested almost completely against the pommel, as far down as he could go on the grip without touching it. The left was grasping the hilt, just above his right. He had the pommel resting stiffly against his upper right thigh, the sword pointing across his body yet away from him at the same time.

_Now will be as good a place to try this new sword out as any, _the young Saiyan thought to himself.

"**READY THE LINE!**" Bellowed the leader. The other seven reared their mounts and began forming a line beside their leader. Their swiftness and precision gave off the impression that they had been doing this for a long time, thousands of years Gohan guessed.

Vegeta eyed him from his place beside the young warrior with a disapproving glare. "A true Saiyan does not use weapons in battle, boy. You have no need for such tools."

The prince dropped into his own stance.

"**LINE READY!**" They all drew their swords on this command. Black metal gleamed as the leader held his high in the sky.

"**Charge!**"

The clatter of hooves resounded across the barren landscape once again, kicking up clouds of grey dust as the line of Royal Knights charged toward the Saiyans. Time stood still a moment for them as they worked out their own individual strategies in their head. Gohan was the first to charge, disappearing completely from sight with extraordinary speed. A split second later, the leader's head fell from his shoulders, spilling his black blood across the dead ground as it toppled down his body and bounced off a flank of the horse. The cut was even and precise, as if made by a machine designed for such tasks. Gohan used his knowledge of warfare to destroy the leader first, causing the remaining knights to become disoriented without direction from a central point. 'Cut off the head and the body will die' as the old saying goes. The young Saiyan fulfilled it quite literally.

He looked to his left to find Vegeta with a huge smirk plastered on his face, having a good time with two knights that had splintered off from the main group. The prince was nearly at full power in his normal state and he was winning easily. The knights were throwing blow after blow at him with their swords and he was blocking them quite simply, pushing the path of the swords off balance by hitting the flat of the blades. Eventually he tired of this game of ducking, dodging, and blocking. With a thrust of each open palm, Vegeta let loose two brilliant white ki blasts, each one finding its mark and tearing through the armor and bodies of the knights.

Gohan was having as little trouble as Vegeta was, as he had already sliced and diced his way through two more knights. They had stood more of a fight than their surprised leader. Each blocked one or two of Gohan's blows, the second even sending Gohan on the defensive for a moment, but he blocked the knights blows quickly and calmly. It was obvious that these horsemen had an upper hand when it came to swordsmanship and experience, but Gohan bested them in all other regards. But it was still obvious to the hybrid that he would have been carved up by the obsidian swords had he not been their better in strength and speed. Yet the fact remained that he _was _their better in those regards and he quickly disposed of the two with a few well aimed slashes of his sword.

All three remaining knights decided to retreat for the moment and regroup, but Vegeta only let them get that far. He flew into the air and threw his arms to each side of his body, gathering ki in each one. After a second or two, the knights seemed to notice this and tried to turn their horses and flee, but the prince beat them to the punch. With each hand full of enormous amounts of power, he thrust them together at blindingly fast speeds and screamed the name of one of his more favored attacks.

"**FINAL FLASH!**"

The white mass of ki swept over the trio, obliterating them instantly, leaving not a trace of them, their steeds, or their armor. Everything was completely destroyed, even the ground below them. A small crater no more than three or four feet deep and ten feet across had formed where the Royal Knights previously stood. Vegeta lowered himself to come to a rest beside Gohan as the boy was sheathing his black stained sword. The Demons' blood left a dark ebony stain along the length of the blade. Gohan surmised that it may be permanent, since all of his efforts to remove it proved futile. He surveyed the crater with an amused smirk, shaking his head.

"Geez Vegeta, don't you think you overdid it just a bit?"

"I overdid nothing, boy."

"That blast could have easily destroyed a planet. What would you have done if you accidently took out Hell?"

Vegeta grunted at Gohan's reasoning. "Bullshit. How can you destroy Hell? I just did what I had to do to kill them. It's as simple as that." Vegeta frowned, "Why am I explaining myself to the mere son of a third class warrior? I am above such things."

"Whatever, but you still didn't have to kill the poor horses. What did they ever do to you?" Gohan smiled, seeing how badly he was annoying the elder Saiyan.

Vegeta shook his head and muttered a few obscenities, beginning his slow walk over the draw bridge to the innards of the castle.

Gohan took a moment to survey the scene of their latest battle. _We really made a mess of things and we've just gotten here. There's that strange black blood all over the place and that crater Vegeta put in the ground. It must be pretty hard to damage Hell if that's all that blast did. _He paused for a moment and put a hand over his chest. _Man this is great. My heart's still pounding from that fight, and it only lasted about fifteen seconds. I had the time of my life out there killing those guys. I can't believe I feel this way, but I guess that transformation to the second level must have changed me in more ways than I thought._

He turned around to follow Vegeta into the castle, but was greeted by a sight that he didn't think he would see anytime soon. The orange gi was the most notable feature of the new arrival, along with the gravity defying black hair. Somehow, Gohan's father had shown up in Hell with he and Vegeta. The young Saiyan eyed the elder a few moments and sighed.

Gohan had a bone to pick with his old man.

_End Chapter 3_

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**Author's Notes: **Well, at least this update was a little more prompt than the last one. It seems I'm doing a little bit better. Thanks for the reviews last time guys, they're much appreciated. By the way, Elaeazeph, how do you think the story seems contrived? I'd love for you to elaborate on that a little so that I could attempt to do better in the future.


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